Full Description
The 2011-2012 volume in the Cooperstown Symposium series is a collection of new scholarly essays that use baseball to examine topics whose import extends beyond the ballpark. The essays represent 16 of the leading presentations from the two most recent proceedings of the annual Cooperstown Symposium on Baseball and American Culture, held on June 1-4, 2011, and May 30-June 1, 2012.
The essays are divided into six parts. "Baseball History, Myth, and the American Past" considers the distinction between reality and remembrance. "Decade of Transition: The 1960s in Baseball and America" explores a critical passage in the evolution of the nation and the game. "Baseball Economics: Owners, Profits, and the Public" provides perspectives on sports as business. "Out of the Bleachers: Women Umpiring and Playing" links the game to those who participate and care about it despite the expectations of atavistic gender roles. "Casting the Game: Stage and Screen" examines theatrical and cinematic treatments of baseball. Part 6, "Game of Numbers: Statistical Baseball," examines the sport and its artifacts quantitatively.
Contents
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments (William M. Simons)
Introduction (William M. Simons)
Part I: Baseball History, Myth, and the American Past
Baseball's Unchanging Past: A Necessary Illusion (John Thorn)
Baseball's Winter of Discontent, 1926-1927 (Charles DeMotte)
The 1926 World Series: A Reflection of the "Roaring Twenties" (Paul E. Doutrich)
A Wife's Memento and Memorial: The Lou Gehrig Scrapbooks (Jon S. Arakaki)
The Rise and Demise of Minor League Baseball in Oneonta,
delete1966-2010 (Michael Sokolow)
Part II: Decade of Transition: The 1960s in Baseball and America
The New Frontier: Baseball and the Zeitgeist of JFK's America (William M. Simons)
Marvin Miller and Free Agency: The Pivotal Year, 1969 (David A. Bohmer)
Part III: Baseball Economics: Owners, Profits, and the Public
MLB Leaks Financial Statements: A Factual Analysis (Kenneth Winter and Michael J. Haupert)
The Building of Yankee Stadium: Tax-Exempt Bonds and Federal Subsidies for the Richest Team in Baseball (Patricia L. Bryan)
Celebrating Nostalgia, Legalizing Extortion, and Subsidizing Greed: The Hegemony of the Retro Ballpark (Timothy Jurkovac)
Part IV: Out of the Bleachers: Women Umpiring and Playing
Women in Black: Pearls of Wisdom from Behind the Plate (Perry Barber and Jean Hastings Ardell)
America's Baseball Underground: Invisible Women in the National Pastime (Jennifer Ring)
Part V: Casting the Game: Stage and Screen
A Less Than Perfect Game, in a Less Than Perfect Place: The Critical Turn in Baseball Film (Marshall G. Most and Robert Rudd)
Theater's Curve Balls: Baseball Plays and the American Psyche (Tim Good)
Part VI: Game of Numbers: Statistical Baseball
Assessing Consumer Preference for Hall of Fame Baseball Player Cards (Michael R. McAvoy)
Quality Starts: Redefining Its Relevance (Wayne G. McDonnell, Jr.)
Index
